Theo Parrish - Gentrified Love Part 4

Theo Parrish - Gentrified Love Part 4
In the years since Theo Parrish launched his Gentrified Love series, its mission statement has become more clear. As ideas from Detroit and wider black music are exported and smoothed-out, Parrish strives to highlight his immediate Motor City community. Just as Sound Signature's annual Music Gallery parties in Detroit offer a discount for attendees with a Detroit ID, Gentrified Love uses the venerated Sound Signature platform to show off Detroit both well established (Amp Fiddler) and emerging (Ideeyah) artists.

Part 4 begins with Parrish's "SS Translation" of Paul Randolph & Kathy Kosins "Be Like Me," a Gilles Peterson-endorsed soul jazz cut from the Motor City. It's easy to see why Parrish was attracted to this track. Kosins' lyrics, which use a Miles Davis quote as a jumping-off point, mirror the Detroit house producer's own views on music. Randolph and Kosins' original centers around a "Deep Burnt"-style chord progression, to which Parrish adds his own wild-style flair by turning it into a spiritual jazz epic anchored by a lumbering house beat.

A collaboration with Amp Fiddler, the trumpeter John Douglas and the vocalist Ideeyah, "Leave The Funk To Us" expands on a track from Gentrified Love Part 2. While the original was relatively streamlined, this version revels in loose improvisation. The result suggests what might have happened if Loose Joints made "It's All Over My Face" at a jazz club. They might not be classics, but Gentrified Love Part 4 captures Parrish's singular vision while reaffirming Sound Signature's community focus.